You are here:

Reading Skills

How do you build foundational reading skills? Which strategies help beginning and more experienced readers understand and remember what they read? These articles can help!

Choosing a Reading Tutor for Your ChildIs your child having trouble reading? It is painful to see a child struggle with reading. You know that having difficulty with reading impacts their entire academic life. When children are in pain, it affects the whole family. You can make a difference for your child. Find him a reading tutor.

Commonly Used Homophone ChallengeWhile there are hundreds of homophone groups, some of the words are seldom used. This article has a list of some of the most commonly used, and misused, homophones. They are in alphabetical order, more or less. How many of these can you use correctly? Let us know how you fare in the Reading Forum!

Fluency in ReadingHow can fluency be improved? The short answer is one word-practice. Find multiple ways to help the reader practice. Reading material that is not difficult for him to read is the first step in finding those creative ways for the student to practice. Don't forget to praise for improvement!

Initial Reading Instruction VocabularyInstructors who discuss reading with parents often use the vocabulary of reading instruction without defining the words. What do all of those words mean? Here are some words with their meanings that are commonly used to discuss early reading skills, including decoding in reading instruction.

Learning About the World Builds Reading SkillsCatch the young child's interest in the world around her. Make sure that she has access to a variety of reading materials. Building strong readers starts years before a child ever goes to school and enters the classroom. Birth to age 5 is a critical time in your child's intellectual development.

Natural Places to Practice ReadingEach day has opportunities for natural reading. Be alert for them! Teach your children to be active readers in their surroundings. It gives them opportunities to interact with their environment. In addition to improving their reading skills, they will also be more connected to their community.

New Practice Readers ReviewThe New Practice Readers (NPR) series is described as "America’s Favorite Reading Comprehension Program in Two-Page Lesson Formats of Cross-Curricular Nonfiction Articles." This NPR series helps students improve their comprehension and gives them a chance to develop confidence in their skills.

Reading a Textbook for InformationTry these effective strategies to read a textbook and build reading comprehension skills. This article will give you step-by-step instructions for reading a textbook.

Reading Comprehension Skill VocabularyThere are many skills that drive reading comprehension study in the schools, and there is a vocabulary that is used to transmit the reading comprehension curriculum. When you are talking to teachers, tutors, and administrators, it is important to know this vocabulary for effective communication.

Reading Decoding VocabularyKnowing the language of reading instruction can improve communications between the family and the school. A parent makes informed decisions about a child's education by having effective conversations with the people who are teaching that child.

Reading Fluency Practice StrategiesWhen it comes to reading fluency practice strategies, change your practice methods for the student in order to keep practicing fresh and interesting. Praise often for the progress that the student is making. Don't expect perfection; expect progress.

Reading to Answer Six Important QuestionsReading is a way to entertain ourselves, as well as a way to gather information. When we read, six simple one word questions can help us follow plots and characters, as well as comprehend research and instructions. The next time you sit down to read, ask Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How?

Sightwords Site Review for Sightwords CurriculumOne of the happiest surprises that I've had in a while is finding the sightwords.com website. It is a treasure trove of reading resources that are arranged to be user-friendly. The well-maintained site has flashcard makers and a comprehensive sightwords curriculum that has printable resources.

Sightwords Website Review for Phonemic AwarenessThe sightwords.com site is the very best site that I have ever seen for teaching those foundational skills for early reading success. Reviewed are the Phonemic Awareness components of the site, which include Phonemic Awareness Basics, Phonemic Awareness Games, and Phoneme Sound Pronunciation.

Teaching Prepositions Using Reading Reading books, especially picture books with easier sentence structures can be a good way to learn about prepositions. This article shows several ways to teach about prepositions. You can also learn what prepositions and prepositional phrases are.

Understanding Reading LevelsUnderstanding reading levels can help parents get books that are just right for their children. Independent, instructional, and frustration levels are explored. This article tells you how to find that perfect book to help your child read and understand more about what they read.

Understood Website Review for ReadingIn addition to superb resources to help those with learning difficulties and attentional problems, this website has a simulator to help folks understand a bit of the frustration that kids feel when they have to struggle with reading. Visit Understood.org to find thousands of resources for reading!